Mina incident should be reviewed by Muslim courts

A Lebanese Sunni scholar pointed out the inadequacy of the House of Saud in managing the Hajj pilgrimage and emphasized that the Mina case should be reviewed by appropriate courts in Arab and Muslim countries.

Shaykh Abdul-Naser al-Jabri, a Lebanese Sunni scholar and the Secretary-General of the Lebanese Ummah Movement, called for an investigate into the tragic stampede in Mina which led to the deaths of 4,000 Hajj pilgrims last Thursday, and said: “In the past, we suggested to the authorities in charge of the Hajj pilgrimage that Islamic countries should participate in the Hajj and provide security for the pilgrims but unfortunately we have not heard an answer from them in this regard.”

His Eminence added that participation in the management of Hajj is necessary and added that it is common in all countries which are affected by disasters that people from all over the world help them. We have seen this in the aftermath of severe earthquakes. “Besides Saudi Arabia’s inability to deal those killed or injured in the stampede incident, they haven’t allowed other countries to investigate the incident either,” he said.

He said that no country can manage the Hajj ceremony alone, so Saudi Arabia must get help from other Islamic countries.

Shaykh al-Jabri pointed out that much larger gatherings than Hajj have been held without incident throughout the world.

The Lebanese Sunni scholar referred to the Holy Quran, wherein God Almighty states: “Cooperate in piety and Godwariness, but do not cooperate in sin and aggression” [5:2] and said Islamic countries’ participation in the hajj pilgrimage is quite natural and represents collaboration among Muslims.

His Eminence stated that Saudi Arabia is responsible for the incident in Mina and added that they cannot deny and reject responsibility for this incident and throwing the blame on the shoulders of the pilgrims is impossible because they were only seeking to perform the Hajj rituals.

Shaykh al-Jabri called for this incident to be examined by Islamic and Arab courts and organizations and stressed that it should not be raised in Western countries because we don’t expect anything else besides evil and the destruction by the West so how can we bring forward an Islamic case to them. “The case should be heard in Islamic and Arab countries and in a strong manner,” he said.

He invited Islamic scholars to support the oppressed countries such as Yemen, Syria, Libya and Iraq and said Islamic countries in the region are responsible for maintaining the blood of Muslims in the region and stated that Arab governments must stand against the arrogant powers in both the East and the West.




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